Manhunter
by MechaUltimaZero
Summary: Response to Dirty Ried's Manhunter Challenge. At the age of seven, Naruto is taken into the care of Doctor Hannibal Lecter. What changes will occur? Only time will tell. Rated for language, violence, adult themes, and cannibalism. Naruto/fem.Kyuubi
1. Introductions

Manhunter

A man came through the Hokage's office door and said, "Sir, I'm not certain that sending him back off to the orphanage is the best of ideas."

The aged leader asked, "Well, what would you suggest, Doctor? No one is willing to take him in, I _can't_ take him in—not politically—and I have to bribe the orphange just to let him through the front door!"

"Lord Hokage, I'm not suggesting that he be put on the street—I'm as concerned for the boy's safety as you are. Why don't you allow me to care for him?"

"Doctor, I don't know for certain that I can trust you…"

"Don't insult me, Hiruzen. You trust me to work with Ibiki-san in the Torture and Interrogation Department. You even trust me—_me_, of all people, to give medical aid in your hospital. You trust me not to betray you, not to kill your citizens; but not to be a caretaker? If I can keep from killing my subjects in the Interrogation Room, AND properly care for my patients, I can likely keep from over-traumatizing a seven year-old boy."

The Hokage, not really seeing any other options, finally said, "Very well; I'll get the paperwork ready—but if anything happens to Naruto under your care, I will have your head on a pike."

"I'd better make it easy for you to find me, then."

Naruto, who had been sleeping on a couch, began to stir. Upon catching sight of the not-quite-yet bald man with maroon eyes, he warily asked, "Old man, who's that?"

Borderline smiling, the Third Hokage told him, "This is your new legal guardian. I'm going to find the necessary paperwork to make things final, so I'll leave you two to introduce yourselves."

After Sarutobi left the room, Naruto timidly walked up to his new guardian and said, "I'm Naruto Uzumaki, the next Hokage."

The older man smiled and said, "Nice to meet you, Naruto. My name is Doctor Hannibal Lecter."

A few minutes later, the Sandaime returned with a few papers, which he had Doctor Lecter sign, before asking for Naruto's signature as well.

Leaving the office, Naruto asked, "So Dr. Lecter, what do you do for a living?"

"I work two jobs: I'm a civilian member of the ANBU Torture and Interrogation department, and I work as a surgeon at the Hospital. I usually work at the Hospital, but in some cases I get called in to the ANBU if someone's proving exceptionally resilient. And you don't have to call me Dr. Lecter. As I'm your legal guardian, call me Hannibal, if you like."

Looking over and seeing the boy's confusion, Lecter asked, "Is somehing bothering you?"

"What do resilient and interrogation mean? And what's exceptionally?"

Hannibal said, "Well, sometimes, other people know things that you don't, but you really need that knowledge for one reason or another. The methods used to get that information are collectively known as interrogation. Resilient is like… when you keep knocking someone down, but they keep getting back up. That's an example of resilient. And when someone's exceptional, that means they're special."

"Oh."

Then, Naruto's stomach rumbled, and Hannibal laughed. "What do you say we get some dinner, eh?"


	2. Fond Memories

Manhunter

Chapter Two

(Six months later)

Naruto had, of course, moved in with Doctor Lecter, and when he wasn't in the Academy, often went with him to work. Naruto, after getting to know his foster father, had decided that he wanted to emulate Hannibal in as many ways as possible—at least, in the ways he knew of.

For instance, Naruto vividly remembered the first time he got to watch in the O.R.

_(Flashback: two weeks earlier)_

_Doctor Lecter was going to perform surgery today and Naruto had had to beg for six hours before he was allowed to watch. "I promise I'll be so quiet, you'll forget I'm even there!"_

"_Naruto, if your behavior were the only problem, I'd let you come in an instant. However, I don't think you'd be able to sit still for over five hours to watch me cut open someone's body and operate on them. Not just because I don't think you could, in fact, sit quietly for that long, but also I believe that seeing it so early in life could have a negative effect on your psyche—that it could traumatize you."_

"_I promise that I won't move, I'll be really quiet, and I won't throw up get disgusted or anything! I can handle it, if you let me."_

_Sighing, the doctor caved in and allowed Naruto to come along. And true to his word, Naruto was silent as the grave after he walked through the front door. He was even allowed to sit in the Operating Room _while_ it was happening._

_He sat captivated, unmoving, while he watched Hannibal seemingly perform the surgery as if he were a skilled muralist in the middle of his newest, and possibly greatest work yet._

_For a number of reasons, Lecter explained the procedure aloud as he went through it. Primarily because some of the other doctors present were interns learning from this, partly because the patient was kept conscious and wanted to know what they were doing to his body, and also because Naruto was in the room; Hannibal knew that the boy would be extremely curious about what was going on._

_After the operation had concluded, Naruto was still silent as he and the doctor went home._

"_You do realize you're allowed to talk now, right?"_

"_Yeah, I've just been thinking, that's all."_

"_Thinking… about the surgery?"_

"_Yes Doctor. I… I want to learn how to operate like that, too."_

_Lecter chuckled and asked, "You do realize that the Hokage won't be pleased with me if I take away his future replacement and turn him into a surgeon, don't you?"_

_Naruto grinned at Hannibal and asked, "I still want to become Hokage, but I want to be a surgeon, too. Sometimes, I even want to be an interrogator like you. So I ask: who says I can't do all three at once?"_

As Naruto walked from the Academy, he took a moment to observe his home.

It was a mansion on the Namikaze grounds, as the Fourth Hokage had written in his will that Naruto would be left everything he possessed. Therefore, Naruto and Lecter had moved into the manor roughly a month ago, and were fairly content with their living arrangements.

Sitting in his favorite chair, which was almost like a hammock, Naruto started into his standard routine: inform Doctor Lecter that he was home, turn on the stereo (Lecter had a large collection of foreign music that Naruto enjoyed; today he selected a band called 'Guns 'n' Roses), and then proceed with homework. It was Friday, and he needed to write a five-page essay on the properties of Genjutsu as discussed in class, as well as work on his chakra control later on.

But as much as that was, Naruto was really anticipating his lesson about anatomy that evening.

Doctor Lecter had more positive qualities than most people realized: he was usually pleasant, he was nearly always on time, and people never pissed him off twice. (Although that may have been due to the fact that he usually either killed them or ate their arm after the first time…)

Naruto was aware of the Doctor's cannibalism, and decided that overall… he didn't really care. Lecter had taken him in, when even the old man wouldn't. For that, Lecter deserved as much of Naruto's loyalty as anyone.

Author's Note: Dr. Lecter's backstory will be posted in a SEPARATE story. END OF DISCUSSION.


	3. Last Heartbeat

Manhunter

**Author's Note: I'm going to provide a brief legend that applies to all my stories:**

**Bold: technique, demon/summon speech, Demonized Vessel speech (Naruto when he channels the Nine-Tailed chakra)**

_Italics: flashback, thought, or special emphasis when speaking._

Underlined: almost never used except in chapter titles.

**Well, that's about it. On with the story. Oh, and this chap's rated for cannibalism, FYI. If you're too queasy to handle it, I'll warn you.**

* * *

Last Heartbeat

Closing his eyes to meditate, Naruto once again allowed himself to drift aimlessly until he found himself in a wide tunnel. His mind had originally manifested as a sewer, but he'd taken the time to clean up a bit, first by starting to dry it out, and then by applying a new layer of paint.

It now resembled a well-lit railroad tunnel (if you can imagine a subway terminal, it's very similar to this).

And, as always, there was a light at the end of the tunnel. However, this was not the white path to Heaven—this was a red portal to the abode of a monster: the Nine-Tailed Fox Spirit.

With a calm that bordered on arrogance, Naruto sauntered over to the light, before eventually arriving in a late-20th century hotel room.

Eventually, he sat down on a semi-comfortable chair and asked, "So how have you been this evening?"

He could hear the shower running, and although Naruto knew that she didn't _really_ need to bathe in order to stay clean, it was the concept that mattered.

From behind the door (and presumably a shower curtain), she replied, "Oh, the same as usual, you know? If something special actually _had_ happened, I'd probably wind up bouncing off the walls or something."

Unable to imagine the Kyuubi bouncing off of anything, Naruto merely said, "If you say so. I was wondering if… perhaps you wanted to do something later on tonight?"

The water stopped running, and he heard her ask from behind him, "In here?"

Naruto couldn't see her because his chair was strategically positioned so that both the bathroom and the bedroom doors were behind him. The vixen had repeatedly said that she didn't care what he saw, but still appreciated that he was trying to be a gentleman.

Naruto also knew that by 'in here', she meant 'here inside his mind', and not 'here in her room'. So he told her, "Actually, I was thinking of something… out there, so to speak."

Still dressing herself, the Kyuubi (or as she preferred to be called while in human form, Katya) asked, "When you say 'out there', do you mean 'out of the ordinary', or 'out of the seal'?"

Smirking, Naruto replied, "To a certain extent… both. The possibility of the latter automatically involves the former."

Now fully dressed, Katya joined Naruto in the living room, taking a seat on the couch directly opposite him. She wore a white skirt that went almost down to her knees, and a short-sleeved, light silver top that left her stomach exposed. Her fiery red hair cascaded down to her shoulders, and her green eyes appraised Naruto with a somewhat critical eye. She appeared to be about twelve years old.

"And just how do you propose to get me out of this seal without killing yourself, hm?"

Still smirking, Naruto answered, "You once told me of a demon-type clone jutsu; one that was extremely similar to the Shadow Clone jutsu, except that the clone _wasn't_ an exact duplicate. Instead, the 'clone' was a physical manifestation of whatever the user wanted to create. Using this, I could essentially create for you a true physical body—one that would expire only if I were to dispel it, or if one of us were too badly injured. As I cast the jutsu, I could pour your consciousness into the 'clone'. That is how, in a sense, I get you out of the seal without killing myself."

Shaking her head slightly, Katya said, "You really do amaze me, Naruto. I wouldn't have given myself a second chance for what I did, but you listened to my side of the story, believed me, and for some inexplicable reason seem to be in love with me." Looking at him with sparkling eyes and a dazzling smile, she continued, "You humans really are an amazing species, you know that?"

Getting up and extending his hand, Naruto answered, "You haven't seen anything yet, my dear."

Still smiling, Katya took his hand and allowed him to pull her up.

With that, the room began spinning, and Naruto opened his eyes in the real world. Going through the twenty-seven hand-signs, Naruto calmly stated, **"Demon's Art: Psy Clone."**

Red chakra swirled around him for a moment, as he reached within himself and dredged up the images he wanted, before transferring Katya's consciousness into the chakra storm as well. After a few seconds, it coalesced into a perfect physical manifestation of what she had looked like within his mind. Of course, she didn't actually have any of her demonic powers—she was, for all intents and purposes, human.

Taking his hand once again, she said, "Come on—you can show me around the town."

Smiling in a way that some would consider deranged, but for Naruto was pleasant, he agreed.

A man clad in black robes wearing a white mask stood atop the building opposite Naruto and Doctor Lecter's abode. Watching Naruto emerge, he realized that the time to strike was near. Whispering into a hidden receiver in his mask, he said, "The demon child's all but alone—now is the time to finish the Fourth's mission.

"Root will not be denied."

Naruto showed Katya around the Village, since she had never really seen it with her own eyes except as the Fox—and back then, she was colorblind.

He treated her to a meal at Hanuman's (a sort of diner where that was popular with the younger generation), and then they went to see a foreign movie called 'Eagle Eye'. And even though the dialogue was subtitled (because it was in a foreign language), it was still a fairly good movie.

Heading back to the Manor, Naruto suddenly detected a number of presences in the vicinity.

The next thing he knew, Katya was bleeding on the ground, before her body dissipated into demonic chakra and seeped back into Naruto's body.

Five men robed in black, their faces hidden by white masks with the symbol for 'Root', circled Naruto; one of them held a bloodied katana.

Each had a different animal symbol that also adorned their masks: Hawk, Lion, Viper, Mantis, and Shark.

Mantis spoke with a dead voice when he stated, "Demon child of the Leaf, tonight you shall have your long overdue death. If you have any last words, now is the time to speak."

A flash of red, and Naruto's body was seemingly engulfed in flames. His irises were now red; the pupils slit. His whisker marks had deepened; his canines and nails had lengthened into fangs and claws.

His voice was only slightly deeper as he replied, **"Phantoms of the Root—if you want to kill me, perhaps you'll succeed. But long before you do…"**

He disappeared and lunged at Viper with a switchblade knife as he finished, **"I'll see you in pieces!"**

Viper leapt out of the way, and Lion made a number of hand-signs before saying, **"Fire-Style: Dragon Flame Jutsu!"**

The massive inferno completely enveloped Naruto, who emerged a split-second later and tackled Lion, before slitting his throat with the switchblade.

"**You didn't do your research, did you? The Kyuubi was a creature born of fire; and since I contain it, no fire-elemental technique can harm me."** Then, he summoned a trio of Shadow Clones, each of whom were also channeling the Kyuubi's chakra, and also had a switchblade knife.

The original shouted, **"Bring them down!"** as the Shadow Clones each began fighting defensively with a different Root ANBU.

Mantis repeatedly attacked with mid-ranged Earth-style; Shark used AOE (Area of Effect) Water-Style; Viper assaulted his target with close-range Lightning-style jutsu; and Hawk hit the original Naruto with a number of Wind-style techniques.

Naruto briefly wondered if Lion had been their Fire specialist.

The Clones defeated, it was one against four now, and Naruto wasn't in the greatest condition. But neither were the Root.

Viper was sporting a broken arm, Mantis was severely bleeding from a nasty cut on his forehead, and Shark had a number of broken ribs. Only Hawk was still unscathed.

He spoke once again: "Abandon this useless resistance, and we will grant you a painless death, Nine-Tails."

Naruto got a crazed look in his eye as he asked, **"You want a demon, fool? Then by all means…."**

He hunched over as the flames covering him pulsed violently before growing a tail was added.

"**LET ME GIVE YOU ONE!!!"**

With his newfound speed, Naruto mercilessly barraged the Root, repeatedly stabbing them, and was about to behead Mantis when the flaming chakra suddenly vanished.

'_**Naruto, you don't want to do this.'**_

'_Like hell I don't. They—for all practical purposes—killed you. I'll make them _scream_ apologies.'_

He tried to forcibly channel the Nine-Tailed chakra again, but failed—this time, she was trying to keep him as human as possible.

In a sudden burst of blue fire, Naruto changed.

He stood a few inches taller, and his sky-blue eyes had now turned a shade of reddish purple.

Thus transformed, he continued his attack, killing Mantis, Viper, and Shark.

He had Hawk lying on the ground, too wounded to get up.

"If you plan to kill me, Demon, then do it now."

Naruto summoned a few Shadow Clones and had them restrain Hawk, just in case, before pulling out a surgical scalpel.

"Oh, I'm just as human as you are—more so, in fact. I, at least, have emotions. And I'm not insane, either. Evil, however… that's debatable."

Cutting away the robe and clothes underneath, Naruto also removed Hawk's mask, revealing a twenty year-old man with white hair and yellow eyes (the iris, not the whites).

With an expression of confusion, Hawk asked, "What are you doing?"

His face a mix of a smirk and a sneer, Naruto told him, "Your ribs are so thoroughly fractured that you'll need an operation to live. Too bad you won't be getting it, though."

Very perplexed, but with an inkling of what was about to happen, Hawk asked, "Then what the hell are you doing?!" His calm was all but gone now.

(**The following section has graphic depictions of surgery, internal organs, and cannibalism. If you feel you are unable to read this without losing your lunch, skip to the next note like this one. And remember: viewer discretion is advised.)**

Not answering directly, Naruto made a vertical incision that cut through the sternum, before making a number of other cuts that allowed him to peel away the man's chest and ribs, exposing his thoracic cavity.

Naruto could see the lungs expanding and contracting along with the diaphragm, as well as a number of other bodily functions, but observed only the man's rapidly beating heart.

Reaching in with his scalpel, Naruto calmly said, in a mocking tone, "Doctor Lecter won't be too pleased with me once he finds out I've spoiled my dinner."

At that moment, the entire truth hit the soon-to-die ANBU like a wrecking ball: this kid was going to devour his _heart_.

In one smooth motion, Naruto cut out Hawk's still-beating heart, and after staring at it for an instant, took a bite out of it.

Hawk was too badly injured to be able to cry out in pain, horror, or disgust, but his eyes still widened with terror as he watched Naruto literally eat his heart right in front of him.

Naruto, however, marveled at the unique taste of the cardiac muscle as he sank his teeth into it. It was hard, and yet soft at once. There was also a lot of blood—he wound up drinking some of it, and found that despite the taste of iron and copper, it was actually quite pleasant.

Once he had finished eating the heart, he noticed that Hawk was dead, and considered eating more of the dead man's body, but decided that somebody was bound to notice sooner or later.

Licking his hands free of the gore, he turned and resumed his journey home.

(**Okay, now you squeamish people can get back to reading again.**)

Ten minutes later, Doctor Lecter returned from his day-long rounds at the hospital. Noting the change in Naruto's eyes, he asked, "I take it you had some adventures with the vixen?"

With a straight face, Naruto recounted the entirety of the day's events—his 'date' with Katya, the attack of the Root, and finally…

"I devoured the fool's heart before his very eyes, Doctor Lecter. His Last Heartbeat was mine."

Hannibal's face was fully devoid of expression, before he smiled.

Seeing that he wouldn't be in trouble, Naruto began chuckling, before laughing.

Lecter joined in, and the neighbors who heard that laughing (but not the story behind it) were unable to sleep for fear of nightmares.

**

* * *

**

A/N: this is, without a doubt, the longest chapter for Manhunter so far—and possibly the longest chapter for any of my stories, period. I'm considering pairing up Doctor Lecter with Anko in the future; vote on whether or not you think I should. Oh, and I was going to post this last night, but I ran out of time, so here it is. Oh, and I'll move the old Chap 3 into its own story as a one-shot until I can properly put it in here.


	4. Manipulation

Manipulation

Naruto watched carefully as Katya tried to get a book from the top shelf of the library.

Being just a few inches taller than she was, he could easily have reached the book himself and given it to her.

But no, Katya had _insisted_ on getting it herself, and it was just one of those days—you know, where you try to help your girlfriend, she doesn't want your help, and if you help her anyway, she starts yelling and cursing at you. Yes, it was one of _those_ days.

Not being able to get the book, Katya was beginning to get royally pissed. Naruto shrugged and said, "If you ever change your mind about help, I'll be in the area reading H. G. Wells…"

As Katya grumbled, indicating that she'd heard, Naruto turned towards the Science Fiction section. Looking up and down the shelves, he found an old classic that had just been checked in.

"'_War of the Worlds'_, hm? This looks promising…" Sitting down in a chair to wait on Katya, Naruto opened to the first page….

"Naruto Uzumaki-san, I would like to speak with you."

Not looking up from his book, Naruto replied, "Hiashi Hyuga-sama. If a simple commoner like me might be permitted to ask… what do you want with me?"

Hiashi sat down and said, "We both know you are far from simple, but that is not the point. I will be frank with you: my eldest daughter, Hinata—whom you know, unless I'm mistaken—has absolutely zero pride, confidence, or even spine. I would ask you to… intervene, if you will do so."

Sighing as he put a bookmark to save his place, Naruto asked, "It's obvious what you stand to gain from this—but what's in it for me?"

"I have already spoken with my Clan Council. If you succeed in this… then you will have the support of the Hyuga Clan in all your endeavors. Political, social, financial, and so on. We would be willing to treat you as one of our own—as a member of the Main House."

Virtually reeling, Naruto stopped and considered that. The Hyuga Clan had quite a bit of influence indeed—and if the Clan Head was offering to share some of that influence, then it would take a fool to decline. Even though he'd already accepted the deal in his mind, Naruto said, "Give me a few hours to think it over, all right?"

Nodding, Hiashi left. Once it was quiet again, Katya suddenly popped up right behind Naruto and said, "See? I told you I could get it by myself!"

Then, noticing Naruto's contemplative mood, she asked, "Okay Naru-kun, what'd I miss?"

"The Head of the Hyuga Clan asked me to help Hinata grow a backbone in exchange for gaining the Clan's support in all matters."

Her eyes the size of dinner plates, all Katya could say was, "Oh. Well, I'll be damned."

"Indeed."

Sensing that Naruto wanted absolute silence, Katya sat down and started reading her book.

Suddenly wondering what she had wanted so badly (and had wanted to keep from him), Naruto snuck a peek at the book Katya had in her hands.

Imagine his surprise to find that it was a book on dating advice!

Giving no indication that he had even noticed her movements, Naruto began thinking about how he might succeed in making Hinata sure of herself.

Slowly, but surely, a plan started to form in his dark mind. "There's just as much of a chance that it will destroy what little confidence she has as there is that it will increase it… but given the rewards at stake, the risks are worth it."

_______

Naruto had to be absolutely certain that his current endeavors could be carried out in secret. Having cleared the plan with Hinata's father (but not after a good hour or more of debate), he now needed to… investigate a few matters.

Sneaking into the ANBU HQ was difficult to say the least, but by spending a few entire days learning the patrol shifts and times, as well as just who was on each watch, Naruto had learned how to get where he needed to be.

Rifling through the ANBU commander's desk—but memorizing the exact sequence and position of each item before moving it—Naruto eventually located what he wanted.

"Tomorrow? Well that's certainly convenient…"

________

When Hinata awoke the next morning, she immediately realized that something was wrong. Activating her Byakugan, she noticed that the entire complex was empty. There were no guards, no Branch members, and no trace of anyone. Pushing her bloodline to its limits, she saw out as far as she could, only to find that there weren't ANY people for about five hundred feet—beyond that, she couldn't tell.

There were no signs anywhere of a struggle. It was as if everyone had simply vanished from the face of the Earth.

Unwilling to accept this as truth, Hinata quickly got dressed, ate some breakfast, and started going through the Village with her Byakugan activated, searching for someone—anyone, really—to… well, to just _be_ there.

After a few hours, she suddenly caught sight of someone. And best of all, it was someone she knew. She shouted, "Naruto-kun! I'm over here!!"

At first, he acted as if he hadn't heard her, but then he jerked to a halt.

Suddenly, he disappeared and then reappeared right next to Hinata, scaring her.

"Hello there, Hina-chan. I'm sorry if I seem a little distracted, but I haven't had breakfast yet."

Rubbing the back of her head in the same fashion that Naruto had before he met Doctor Lecter, Hinata waved it off and asked, "Don't worry about it. But… do you know where everyone is? You're the only person I've been able to find in the whole village today."

Inwardly, however, she was near to fainting—he'd called her Hina-chan, something that only happened in her dreams.

Shrugging, Naruto said, "No, I haven't seen anybody. And I'm not particularly worried about it either."

Then he got a strange glint in his eye as he said, "But I really must confess, Hina-chan—you look absolutely delicious today."

Blushing like a tomato, Hinata tried to joke away her embarrassment by replying, "I honestly hope you didn't mean that in a culinary sense…"

Naruto's face seemed to show what she could only describe as true love—although she'd have been the first to admit that it was likely just wishful thinking that made it so.

However, his silken voice shattered her entire world as he said, "Actually, Hina-chan, I did." Suddenly reaching out and scratching her cheek hard enough to draw blood, he knocked her to the ground before licking the blood off of his fingers.

Then, he sighed as he said, "Your blood, Hina-chan—it's even better than I could ever have dreamed! And if your blood is that good… just trying to imagine your heart makes my mouth water."

Throughout this declaration of intended cannibalism, his face still seemed to indicate that he wanted nothing more than to simply be within arm's reach of her—and not to devour her.

Getting up and backing away, Hinata asked, "Naru-kun, w-what are you doing? What do you mean—you… you want to _eat _me?!"

She was becoming hysterical, and even more so as Naruto replied, "But Hina-chan, I now want only to be with you. You once said your heart was mine—and now you wish to keep it from me? Once I have you in my system, there's a part of you that will never leave. We will be irrevocably together until the end of time. Is that not what you dream of? Now that you have me in your grasp, would you really push me away?"

Naruto was a silver-tongued devil, and he knew it. In fact, most of Konoha knew that between his appearance, his way with words, and his skill as a shinobi, he could easily have any woman he wanted. And since Hinata had practically been crushing on him since Day One, getting inside her head was far too easy.

"N-NO! You're not my Naru-kun—you're some kind of sick imposter! Show yourself now!"

Changing his face to appear critically hurt, he said, "Hina-chan, you wound me. If you really don't believe I am who I say I am, then use the Byakugan—look into my eyes and tell me if I'm lying."

Doing so, Hinata looked at him—his chakra network, his seal (Naruto's Jinchuuriki status had become public knowledge after he said that he didn't really care)—even wishful thinking wouldn't allow her to detect any abnormalities in his body, nor any trace of deceit in his eyes.

Suddenly realizing that the man she loved seemingly loved her as well and wanted to kill her—BECAUSE he loved her in the first place—Hinata started backing away again, slowly. She tried to avoid catching his attention, but knew it was futile; he was a far better ninja than she was.

Confirming her fears, Naruto asked, "Hina-chan, where are you going? Have I done something wrong?"

Then, he took one step towards her. It was slow, deliberate. The kind of step a man takes when he _knows_ that he's going to get what he wants in the end, and has all the time in the world to either take it, or wait for it to be given to him.

He took one more step, the same way as the last.

And as he took a third step, Hinata bolted.

She didn't know where she was going, except that it had to be _away_. She didn't to die like this—hell, she didn't want to die **period**—but this felt too much like something out of a horror movie.

She kept running for five blocks, at which point she nearly ran into him. "Hina-chan, do you no longer want me?"

"YOU'RE NOT NARUTO!!!" she shouted, turning and running again. Naruto just followed after her, one step at a time.

But every so often, he would suddenly appear in front of or beside her, causing her to run in a different direction. It had never occurred to her that she might be being _driven_ somewhere.

Twenty minutes later, she looked around, panting. "Thank God, I think I lost him."

If only she'd used the Byakugan…

Suddenly, a voice that both terrified and thrilled her asked from directly behind, "Does this mean that you're done running?"

Screaming, Hinata jumped before running away from the voice. She didn't need the Byakugan to know that he'd been close enough to whisper in her ear had he chosen to.

Bursting through the door to a gymnasium, she quickly turned and locked it, hoping to keep him out until she could get help—whenever that was.

Then she heard the crashing noises commonly associated with furniture being thrown around.

Afraid to look, she did anyway. And she found that there had been three doors total—two of which were now blocked by various exercise equipment too heavy for her to move.

And Naruto himself was in the center of the room. "Face it, Hina-chan. My stamina is more than twenty times yours, I'm stronger and faster than you are, and I have all the time in the world. Why struggle? I will try to make your death as painless as I can."

Turning to unlock the door she'd just used, she found that she couldn't open it—Naruto had had Shadow Clones on the other side blockade it.

She was trapped in a room with the only person around for who-knows-how-far, he wanted to KILL her, and had her overpowered in almost every possible way.

There was nowhere to run, nowhere to hide. If she wanted to live, her only possible chance was to fight.

'_But he's so much stronger than I am! I probably can't even hurt him anyway!'_

But then, a small part of her—the part that was cold and proud, like other Hyuga—said, _'Nonsense! You can see his chakra points, so just use the Gentle Fist to bring him down. Even Naruto won't be able to completely block your Taijutsu.'_

'_But he'll see me coming a mile away! And besides, even if I knock him out, he'll still wake up eventually, and then he'll expect it!'_

'_So you have to get him now, while he doesn't expect it. And when he can't fight back, you have to kill him. Either that or YOU die. Better decide now!'_

"I don't know who you are, but I won't let you kill me!"

Moving in as fast she could, Hinata activated her Byakugan and said, **"Eight Trigrams: 32 Palms!"** With each attack, she sealed off some of his chakra and paralyzed a part of his body.

Then, screaming, she was about to pierce his heart with a Gentle Fist attack, killing him…

But suddenly Naruto's face resumed its usual apathetic scowl as he grabbed her arm and threw her against the wall as if she were no more than a rag doll.

As she got up, bleeding at the mouth, she asked, "So I couldn't do anything… kill me now, damnit!"

Smirking, Naruto sat down and studied her a moment before saying, "No."

At this, Hinata almost fell over again, but somehow remained standing. "W-what do you mean, no?!?! You were going to kill me and eat me!"

Shrugging, Naruto proceeded to explain. "Actually, I was trying to see whether or not you could be pushed to fight your way out of trouble instead of relying on someone to save you. It was a test imposed by your father, and needless to say… you passed."

Gawking at him for a moment, Hinata collected herself before asking, "But how did you manage the deserted Village? And you were so convincing…"

Naruto laughed and said, "This entire section of the Village was scheduled for demolition, so that's why nobody's in it. I merely… postponed it for a day, so I could test you. For the rest of the Village, I used a combination of Genjutsu, optical illusion, and some mind tricks. You thought I was convincing because A) I was trying to be, and B) you're not that good at reading people, Hinata. Anyone with skill at doing this—like the average Chunin, for instance—would've been able to _eventually _figure out I was lying."

"So then… you _weren't _going to eat me?"

His face now unreadable, Naruto said, "Maybe I was, and maybe I wasn't."

___

The next morning, Naruto went to Hiashi and informed him of the success. Astonished, the Head asked how it was done.

"Simple: she was easily manipulated into fighting me, or allowing me to kill and devour her. Turns out her will to live overshadowed her attraction for me. Eventually, I hope, she'll find someone else. And she certainly won't be manipulated so easily again."

Curious, Hiashi asked, "Why do you wish for her to fall for someone else? I think that you would make a fine husband."

Waving him away, Naruto said, "No I wouldn't. I don't love her—I'm taken by someone else, and gladly so. Besides, I have a tendency to manipulate the people around me just because I can. Hinata wouldn't be able to deal with that."

A branch member who'd just walked in asked, "So basically, you don't want Hinata-sama to like you because you're a bastard?"

Hiashi looked about ready to use the Mark, but Naruto laughed and said, "In a nutshell, yes."

_______

At last, Naruto was able to read _The War of the Worlds_ in peace. After finishing with the 'Hyuga incident', as he called it, he managed to get through half the book before he was interrupted again.

This time, however, the interrruption was _much_ more violent—an ANBU with a Viper mask (**not the same Viper Naruto killed a few chapters ago—that Viper was working for Root. This one isn't.**) kicked the door down, threw Naruto to the ground, and after placing an okatana (**if you've ever played the 'Devil May Cry' series, this looks exactly like Vergil's Yamato sword**) at his neck, said, "Naruto Uzumaki-san, you are under arrest. You will be taken to headquarters for interrogation, and pending the results, execution."

Infuriated, Naruto asked, "Arrest—under what charges!?!?"

His voice devoid of all emotion, Viper simply replied, "To be blunt… treason. But to be specific, you are under arrest for stealing the Forbidden Fuinjutsu Scroll and attempting to use it for unknown purposes. Do not try to defend yourself here and now—we have DNA samples, blood stains, and enough of other kinds of evidence to convict you in less than 15 seconds with a jury of your closest friends."

As the ANBU carried Naruto away, he shouted, "You _**KNOW**_ me damnit! YOU _**KNOW ME!**_"

Watching, Viper said, "I thought I knew you. It seems I was wrong."

__________

**So what the hell happened to Naruto? Has he really turned bad, or is he being framed? You'll have to read to find out. Oh, and if you liked this story, then please read the rest of what I've written. Shameless plug? Yes.**

**Very shameless.**


	5. Vindicated

Proven Innocence

Naruto had been in the interrogation chamber for three days—and for three days, he had basically been playing quid pro quo with Ibiki Morino. The man was almost as bad as an enraged Lecter… almost, but not quite.

"Damnit Naruto, just fucking confess!"

Dead in the eyes, Naruto said, "Okay Ibiki, I confess—I confess to not making your job easy right now. I confess that you believe I'm being obstinate. Hell, I even confess that you think I took the scroll. In fact, I confess to doing no such thing."

Slamming Naruto's head against the wall, Ibiki swore badly enough that Naruto almost found his ears bleeding.

Leaving him chained to the wall, Ibiki left the building and slammed the door shut.

Now that Morino had left, Naruto finally allowed himself express his fatigue. Panting, he wondered at the miracle that he was still alive.

He was beaten, battered, bruised, and hadn't been fed in over seventeen hours—hadn't been allowed to sleep for longer.

Pondering Katya's reaction upon seeing him like that, he realized that, if she had her way, he wouldn't be out of bed for a week—whereas Ibiki would be in pieces. Although more human than he was (by Naruto's own admission), her dark side could still emerge when she was enraged.

Deciding that both for his peace of mind, and to keep most of the Village (hopefully) intact, Naruto would have to somehow escape from his bindings, avoid Katya so as to not have to explain his wounds to her, and clear his name.

But first, he'd need energy—and for that, he needed food and rest.

Glaring at the security camera, Naruto yelled, "Hey you bastards! I'm willing to make a deal! But it has to be Anko who comes in here—Anko and no one else!"

Exactly twelve seconds later, the snake mistress glided into the room, her usually open-book face a proverbial blank page.

"What do you want, _traitor_?"

Sighing, Naruto said, "If that's how you're going to be, then you can humor me before I talk. First, I want some decent food and at least three hours of sleep, and THEN I talk."

Unable to really do anything but to follow through with his requests, Anko nodded stiffly before turning and walking away.

As soon as the door was closed, a tear began rolling down her face.

_____

Having slept for a couple of hours—enough time to rest a little, and to digest his recent meal—Naruto's eyes snapped open, clear and focused for the first real time since he'd been incarcerated.

Standing up, Naruto estimated that he had roughly seventeen seconds to escape if his timing was correct.

Augmenting his arms with chakra, he suddenly lunged at the wall opposite from where he was chained, putting all effort into his right arm… and while the chain itself remained intact, the concrete surrounding its anchor shattered so that the entire chain came loose.

Then, using his momentum, he twisted and started pulling on the other chain as well.

They hadn't bothered to shackle his legs—a mistake Naruto made certain that they would regret.

A couple of ANBU burst through the door, only to be hit with a cinderblock flying through the air at thirty miles per hour.

Using the other heavy piece of rock as a flail, Naruto incapacitated another ANBU before he hit the wall with a chakra-infused punch, breaking through.

Throwing his head back in a savage roar as he unleashed half a tail of the Nine-Tailed chakra, Naruto rushed into the Forest of Death before drawing in the energy around him like a cloak.

For the moment, nothing short of the Byakugan would be able to find him.

Naruto murmured, "Ah, the first rejuvenating breath of freedom."

And then, he slept once more.

__________

Katya had been asleep when the ANBU took Naruto, and was in extreme distress now that it had been five days since she last saw him.

She was almost ready to try to break in and find him personally, when she heard a rasping voice behind her curtain say, "Don't… go crazy."

Turning around, she had to stop herself from screaming as Naruto fell through the window, most of his bones broken.

Quickly putting her hand to his neck, she was relieved to find a weak but steady pulse.

Picking him up and bringing him to the bed, she started performing what few medical jutsu she had learned in previous centuries.

As she growled at her self-perceived incompetence, Naruto coughed a chuckle and said, "Katya-chan… you're so beautiful when you're frustrated…"

And then, he blacked out.

_____

She kept him in bed for three days, doing all in her ability to nurse him back to health.

At dusk on the fourth day, Naruto sat up in his bed, ignoring Katya's protests.

"Naruto, you're still too weak—"

He silenced her with a glare before saying, "I've recovered enough to clear my name, Katya. After that, you're welcome to fuss over me as much as you like."

As she put it in writing so that it was on the record, Naruto dragged himself to his feet, ate some breakfast before making handsigns for one of his original jutsu.

"**Ninja Art: Active Camouflage."**

The chakra surrounding him began to mimic what was exactly on the other side of Naruto's body, thus rendering him invisible.

Then, knowing that only the Sharingan or Byakugan would be able to detect him, Naruto began his mission to find evidence that he'd been set up.

Leaping across the rooftops, Naruto decided that first, he would have to infiltrate the Hokage Tower itself to see whether or not the Forbidden Fuinjutsu scroll actually had been stolen.

As he made his way there, he made a mental list of other places he'd have to check out, which included the ANBU HQ he'd just gotten out of, the Mission Records Building, and the forensics lab.

All of which were supposed to be impossible to break into.

As he landed on the Hokage Tower wall, he wondered just how 'impossible' this would turn out to be.

Sensing a small, but easily noticeable chakra spike inside the building, Naruto cursed—he'd triggered a silent alarm of some sort.

A large number of ANBU emerged on the scene, weapons drawn. Moving swiftly and silently, they moved almost beyond human perception as they searched for the intruder.

Pressing himself to the wall, Naruto held his breath, praying that he could avoid detection.

After an agonizing five minutes, one of the ANBU said, "I don't like this. Isn't the chakra sensory system supposed to be infallible? How could it be triggered and there be nothing here?"

His commanding officer, by whose voice Naruto recognized her as Yugao Uzuki, said, "It is infallible. Something either came and then left, or it is still here and we can't detect it."

With a silent groan, he realized that they would continue to patrol the area for quite some time.

Shaking his head at his inability to do anything, Naruto resumed climbing the wall. He had to get inside before they brought in a Hyuga…

Finding an open window, he blessed the unknown person's negligence and crawled through. Knowing full well that, were he caught, this would be considered treason, Naruto started looking through the Tower's security reports for the past week and a half.

In particular, he focused on the Scroll Room—the area where all of the Hokage's scrolls were kept, both forbidden and otherwise.

The morning of his arrest, a young ANBU codenamed Sai had been permitted entry to get a scroll for Doton jutsu. Taking out that file, he also found that the Forbidden Fuinjutsu Scroll had been found missing roughly four hours later.

Thinking that this 'Sai' must've stolen the scroll and framed him, Naruto (keeping the file) put everything back in order before leaving through the same open window.

Knowing that he was very close to getting caught as it was, Naruto thought about going back home and finishing his job the following night, but realized that the file would still be missed eventually. No, it was far wiser to finish it tonight.

Now he ran to the ANBU headquarters.

Oddly, his escape seemed to have actually _decreased_ their security—presumably since most of the ANBU were out looking for him. This meant that there were fewer ANBU in the HQ for him to sneak past.

Laughing inwardly, Naruto watched, noting that the patrol changed every seventeen minutes—during which, there was a three-point-six second gap.

The instant the guard changed, Naruto made use of his opportunity.

In stark contrast to the moonless night outside, the building itself was as brightly lit as noon. One might have expected darkness, considering how the ANBU worked, but they maintained excessive lighting to minimize the number of places for intruders to hide.

Considering that stealth was practically useless in there, Naruto released his **Active Camouflage**.

Instead, he made better use of his chakra by pumping it into his legs, so that he could move as quickly as possible.

He had done so in the nick of time as well, since he was barely able to evade the shuriken launcher traps that were activated by motion and chakra sensors.

As the projectiles clanged loudly against the walls, he knew at that instant that any further attempt at stealth would be futile.

Therefore, he ran all-out towards where he knew the personnel records to be.

Narrowly entering the records room just in time to avoid a group of ANBU that rushed past the door, Naruto allowed himself a sigh of relief.

Going to the cabinet for codenames beginning with 'S', he eventually found Sai's.

And yet, the file was virtually blank—it only had the codename, number of missions completed and failed, and nothing else. Just as he was about to put it back in frustration, he observed one other note: that Sai was part of the Special Forces branch named 'Root'.

Remembering that it had been Root that had tried to kill him and Katya those years ago, his violet eyes began shifting to red.

Then, breaking open a compartment on the ANBU commander's desk, he found out where the Root HQ was—an underground bunker beneath the Monument.

Memorizing the location of the entrance, he said to himself, "It's time to pay Root a little visit, I think."

Right then, he heard a clapping noise behind him—turning around, and he found Yugao.

Before he could speak, the ANBU cut him off. "Naruto-kun, I know that you're innocent, but none of the other ANBU outside of Root do. Remember a few years ago, when you killed Root's Elemental Squad?"

"If that's what they were called, then yes."

"The Root Commander, Danzo-teme, wants to have you either killed or forced into his ranks as punishment for that. So to get you in a position where he could better bargain with you, he had you framed."

Pulling out his switchblade, Naruto asked, "And why haven't you done anything about it?"

Leaning against the wall, she nonchalantly replied, "Because it's well-known in the Ops that we're friends. If I tried to defend you, they would've put me in the same spot for aiding and abetting. Since you escaped, I've been doing a little research on Root—even had a contact get me some information. But in order to get enough evidence to clear your name, we'll have to break in to the Root HQ—a task that you'll find much more difficult than it was to get in here."

Frowning, Naruto said, "I see. Should we go now, or do we need to bring Katya along?"

Taking off her mask, Yugao said, "I don't think that will be necessary."

As she began telling him her plan, Naruto couldn't help but grin.

________

Thankful that Anko had let him sign the contract the year before, Naruto Summoned a massive black snake before Transforming into Orochimaru.

It was a little-known fact that, unlike most contracts, the Snake Contract had two bosses, and depending on which one you pledged your service to, you could summon different kinds of snakes.

Anko, Yugao, Kakashi, and the Sandaime were just about the only people in the Village aside from Naruto who knew this.

When Naruto summoned his Boss, it wasn't Manda.

It was a giant black cobra of equal size, with red markings on its back.

Knowing that Naruto was the only person who'd signed under him, the massive serpent allowed the Orochimaru look-alike onto his head.

"_**Well Naruto, why have you called me here?"**_

"I was framed, and we're about to get some evidence with which I can clear my name. Will you help me, Lord Shinagi?"

Laughing, the monstrous snake responded in the affirmative.

And so, the pair began acting as though the real Orochimaru was attacking Konoha. However, thanks to the location of the Root HQ entrance, Shinagi and Naruto themselves were hidden from view.

And since Naruto had previously done a fair bit of research on the Rogue Sannin, he was able to impersonate him rather effectively.

Combining a Genjutsu and a **Fireball Jutsu** to mimic **Fire Dragon Jutsu**, Naruto scorched a large number of Root agents before leaping down from Shinagi's head.

Dashing through the cavernous entrance, Naruto deflected a set of kunai thrown at him with his switchblade transformed to look like Orochimaru's Longsword of the Heavens.

Then, making a set of handsigns, he yelled, "**Earth-Style: Rising Crush!**"

As a group of Root came at Naruto, the earth beneath began to pull them under before it seemingly leapt over and crushed them.

Then, finding—and breaking down—the door to the Trophy Room, Naruto saw the Forbidden Fuinjutsu Scroll, turned, dropped his illusions, and ran like a bat out of hell.

And who was to stop him at the exit? None other than Sai himself!

Eyes now a dark shade of red, Naruto said, "So you're the one who framed me." It wasn't a question.

His voice dead, the ANBU said, "Affirmative."

Gripping his switchblade, Naruto asked, "Why?"

Shrugging, Sai merely said, "Because Danzo-sama ordered it."

Struggling to maintain control over his temper, Naruto asked, "So let me get this straight: you impersonated me, stole the Forbidden Fuin Scroll, and had me tortured for _three days_, all because a senile old man told you to?!"

Sai, now growing angry, spat, "Don't you dare call Danzo-sama senile!"

At this point, Naruto completely lost control of himself and lunged at the Root operative, his eyes now rubies glistening in their sockets.

Sai created a group of tigers from his ink to intercept Naruto, who countered them with a low-level Wind-style.

Then, Naruto threw a number of kunai and shuriken at Sai, who surrounded himself in armor made of ink—a mistake that would cost him his life.

Naruto threw another kunai with an exploding tag, and just as Sai saw it, he remembered that his ink was flammable…

________

(Three days later…)

Sai had been taken to the hospital for third-degree burns covering his entire body, Naruto was exonerated, and things were beginning to return to normal.

Sadly for Sai, however, he would no longer be of any service to Danzo—or even Konoha, really—as a ninja, since his hands appeared to have been completely burned away in the fire.

As Katya sat down for dinner, Naruto put a plate in front of her, and a different dish in front of his seat.

So while she began on the lasagna she'd made earlier, she asked, "Naruto-kun… did you decide that you don't like my cooking after all?"

Shaking his head, Naruto replied, "In no way at all is such the case. This is simply an appetizer, that's all."

Eyes widening in realization, Katya shrugged and dug in to her food.

At the same time, Naruto produced a serrated scalpel and started cutting through what sounded a lot like bones….

________

**Translations:**

**Shinagi = Death Cutter**

**A/N: If this seems rather forced to you guys, that's because it was. I literally slaved away at this for weeks, trying to hit the magic "Eureka!!" that would signify my temporary victory against the forces of Writer's Block. Sadly, that "Eureka!" never happened. So instead of enjoying an easy win in the eternal war, I had to spearhead my way through the enemy ranks, zweihänder gleaming with the blood of countless—whoa there, didn't mean to start rambling. At any rate, you get the idea, I think.**

**My question of what filler work I should publish still stands, by the way. I've got the Prologue for "The Modern League", part of the first chapter for "Wherever I May Roam", and a lot of concept work done for "A Demon Amongst Monsters" and "White Rose". Granted, I haven't actually checked my reviews yet…**


End file.
